Agnès Pannier-Runacher welcomes the decision of the Council of State concerning air quality in urban areas

In a decision handed down on 25 April 2025, the Council of State noted that several urban areas now comply with the nitrogen dioxide pollution limit (40 µg/m³), thus ending a dispute launched on 12 July 2017. This decision is the result of the success of the State's action in favour of air quality, carried out with local authorities throughout the territory.

The action taken has notably made it possible to act on road traffic, from which nitrogen dioxide emissions mainly come, thanks to the deployment of low-emission zones.

As a reminder, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been recommending new reference thresholds for several air pollutants since 2021 to better take into account their health impacts in light of the latest available scientific data. The European standards that will be applicable from January 1, 2030, have thus been significantly strengthened: the annual limit values ​​for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter will be halved, from 40 to 20 µg/m3. By 2050, they will have to align with a more stringent value as recommended by the WHO.

Continuing actions to improve air quality across the country therefore remains more essential than ever.

The State has already adopted a plan to reduce atmospheric pollutant emissions (PREPA) for the period 2022-2025, enabling the deployment of national measures to reduce pollutant emissions for all sectors of activity. This plan is being rolled out and supplemented at the local level based on regional challenges, particularly within the framework of Atmospheric Protection Plans (PPA).

In order to limit the nitrogen oxide emissions incriminated in the litigation, the development of less polluting forms of mobility is essential.

Regarding fine particle emissions linked to domestic wood heating, the Government is continuing to implement the national plan with its local variations, which aims to halve atmospheric pollutants caused by domestic wood heating by 2030.

In order to ensure that future standards are met and to be consistent with everyone's right to breathe air that is not harmful to their health, the State and local authorities, as well as all stakeholders, must collectively pursue these policies and implement ambitious actions by 1 January 2030.

It is within the framework of this dynamic that the Roquelaure de la Qualité de l'air is organized by Minister Agnès PANNIER-RUNACHER with François Rebsamen, Minister of Regional Planning and Decentralization and Yannick Neuder, Minister of Health and Access to Healthcare, on May 12.

For Agnès PANNIER-RUNACHER, Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, the Sea and Fisheries: "This decision by the Council of State demonstrates that the public policies the Government has implemented to improve air quality and ultimately prevent thousands of premature deaths and serious illnesses are bearing fruit. This decision reinforces our efforts and should encourage us to continue on this path. As a reminder, road transport is the main source of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions, a particle whose risk to human health is widely documented. In the Lyon and Paris metropolitan areas, where low-emission zones are in place, the concentration of NO2 has been reduced by more than a third. We must continue our efforts to protect the most vulnerable, who are the first to be affected by this pollution. On Monday, May 12, I will organize an Air Quality Roquelaure with my colleagues François Rebsamen and Yannick Neuder, involving representatives from major urban areas where air pollution continues to significantly exceed the World Health Organization's recommendations."

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.